


Vaccinate Your Fucking Kids

by bisexualamy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Liberal Steve Rogers, Politics, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 14:12:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6960286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualamy/pseuds/bisexualamy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Sam, these kids are trusting their parents to protect them,” Steve said, “and these parents are listening to this ‘Jenny McCarthy,’ and people like her, who are telling them that the best way to protect their kids is to stop them from getting one of the best things modern medicine has ever invented.  I can’t just sit here drinking coffee and pretend I didn’t read about this.”</p><p>Sam, knowing what was about to happen and realizing he was going to get dragged into it too, sighed and stood up a little straighter.  “So,” he said.  “I guess the question I should be asking is: what are we going to do about it?”</p><p>(Or, the one where Aggressively Activist Steve Rogers finds out about anti-vaxxers and can't keep his mouth shut on the issue once he does.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vaccinate Your Fucking Kids

**Author's Note:**

> So a Steve Rogers so liberal it would piss off any half-baked conservative that tried to put him on a pedestal as a beacon of "good, old American values" is the air I breathe, the blood in my veins, etc. etc. Based off of [this post](http://bluandorange.tumblr.com/post/109162411135/all-bucky-wanted-to-do-was-get-some-more-tea-and) and the many additions to it as it has circulated Tumblr. Also, I'd like to believe that Steve used a lot of that extra time after the fall of SHIELD for social activism, so this might not be my last fic on this subject.

Sam heard the shout from two rooms away.  A clearly angry, almost aggressive “what?!” coming from his kitchen where, just a few minutes before, an American icon sat calmly reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee.  Steve wasn’t one to have such a strong reaction to just anything  _ The Washington Post _ decided to report on that day, so when Sam came back in and saw his friend not just shocked, but so shocked he’d gotten out of his seat to stare at page three of the folded paper, Sam was more than a little surprised.

“What’s gotten into you?” Sam asked.  He went to take the newspaper out of Steve’s hand and see what got him so worked up when Steve did the job for him, yanking his friend in view of the paper’s headline.  There, in bold print read “Close to 10% of Washington D.C. Kindergarten Parents Opt Out of Vaccinating Their Children.”

“Do you see that?!” Steve asked, though his question was more of a shout.  Before Sam could answer that yes, in fact, he had seen the same headline, Steve continued.  “What are these parents thinking?  Sam, I lived in the goddamn  _ forties _ and we all got vaccines.  Whooping cough, diphtheria, smallpox, have you heard of a kid getting smallpox?  No?  That’s because it’s  _ gone, _ Sam.  Gone because of vaccines-”

“Steve, I know,” Sam said, trying to interject, “but you see-”

“-now you’re telling me that you guys have vaccines for the chicken pox, for the flu, for polio, and people don’t get them?  You know who they couldn’t prevent from getting polio in the forties?  The  _ President, _ Sam.  The President of the United States-”

“Steve, just listen-”

“You think if FDR could’ve gotten a vaccine instead of polio he would’ve said no?  Of course not!  Because polio is  _ terrible, _ Sam, and if they had vaccines back when I was a skinny, sickly kid in Brooklyn, if my mom knew she could save me from polio for sure-”

“Man, did you even have polio?”

“That’s not the point, Sam.”

“Steve, will you just stop!” Sam shouted.  Finally, Steve, who’d barely breathed throughout his entire speech, took a pause.

“Thank you,” Sam said.  “Now, Steve, how have you been out of the ice for all this time and never heard of anti-vaxxers?”

“Anti-vaxxers?” Steve repeated with a scoff.  “Is that what they’re calling themselves?  Like they’re some kind of social activist group?  They’re setting medicine back decades, they’re-”

“Steve!” Sam repeated loudly.  When Steve took another pause, Sam asked again at normal volume, “how have you never heard of anti-vaxxers?”

“I don’t get a lot of time off,” Steve said with a shrug.  “Or didn’t, not until now.  Not with SHIELD needing me.  Besides, when I did have time to watch and read the news, this never came up.  And rightfully so, because this shouldn’t be news beyond ‘several uneducated parents use their children to further their political agendas’ news.  Tabloid stuff.”

“This is way beyond tabloid stuff,” Sam said.  “There are actual celebrities endorsing these beliefs.  Have you heard of Jenny McCarthy?”

“Who?” Steve asked.

Sam chuckled.  “Google her,” he said.  “Then come back and talk to me.”

After twenty minutes of Steve looking through articles on Jenny McCarthy (accompanied by many additional disbelieving shouts at what he was actually reading), Steve closed Sam’s laptop and looked up.  His friend was leaning against the kitchen counter with a mug in his hand, watching Steve’s reactions as his sipped his own coffee.

“Vaccines cause autism?” he asked Sam incredulously.

“Not actually,” Sam replied.  “The study-”

“Was faked, I know,” Steve said.  “I looked it up, but even if I didn’t, I could still tell you that that’s a ridiculous claim.  And, even if it was true, what kind of priorities do these parents have?  Would they seriously rather have a dead kid than an autistic one?  Do they really think autism is that bad?”

“Apparently,” Sam replied, then, after a brief pause, asked, “why does it matter, Steve?  What’s the point of all this outrage?  If these parents want to believe that letting their kids get ten kinds of preventable diseases is better than vaccinating them, what’s there to do about it?”

“Sam, these kids are trusting their parents to protect them,” Steve said, “and these parents are listening to this ‘Jenny McCarthy,’ and people like her, who are telling them that the best way to protect their kids is to stop them from getting one of the best things modern medicine has ever invented.  I can’t just sit here drinking coffee and pretend I didn’t read about this.”

Sam, knowing what was about to happen and realizing he was going to get dragged into it too, sighed and stood up a little straighter.  “So,” he said.  “I guess the question I should be asking is: what are we going to do about it?”

***

He starts with a letter to the editor.  It’s not a lot, just a way for Steve to carefully word his outrage and let it be known that Captain America himself had a strong opinion about vaccines. Let the daily news cycle do the rest, and soon the political commentators and tv hosts would be coming to him.  Getting  _ The Washington Post _ to publish it was easy.  They were so thrilled to have a celebrity letter to the editor that their only question was whether Steve wanted to sign it “Steve Rogers” or “Captain America.”  By the following day, any American who picked up a copy of the  _ Post _ would see at the top of the letters to the editor:

_ Yesterday’s article detailing the shocking statistic that nearly 1 in 10 Washington D.C. Kindergarten parents don’t vaccinate their children came as an utter shock to me.  I grew up in a time where vaccines were not an option: you got vaccinated, or you ran an almost certain risk of contracting a terrible disease like whooping cough or smallpox.   _

_ I had whooping cough when I was in my early teens, and if I had had the option to forego that terrible experience by simply getting a vaccine, I would’ve let them inject me with whatever those good doctors said would help.  I was in bed for weeks, and my mother nearly caught the disease herself trying to take care of me.  Since I was so sickly, the doctors thought I might die.  Thankfully, I was able to recover, and because of the smallpox vaccine, there was one less serious illness I was at risk to catch. _

_ Most American parents today have an opportunity my mother only dreamed of when I was young.  There are vaccines for the chicken pox, the flu, even polio, something that back in the forties we thought we’d never be able to combat.  Because of vaccines, children no longer have to worry about the threat of things like smallpox, or suffer through whooping cough like I did.  To not vaccinate your child is to ignore this medical marvel, one I couldn’t have possibly imagined when I was growing up in Brooklyn.  Don’t take it for granted. _

_ Steve Rogers, Washington D.C. _

By the evening news, any network worth having an opinion (and several that weren’t) had commented on Steve’s letter.  The lower thirds of evening political talk shows read “Captain America Speaks Out Against Vaccine Backlash.”  By the following day, round table discussions were happening on morning shows, experts debating back and forth the validity of Steve’s points, or whether Steve should even have a place in this discussion.

“You know,” one commentator said, “if Jenny McCarthy, a model and actress with as much scientific background as Mr. Rogers, can be such a presence in the anti-vaxxer movement, I say let the man speak his mind.  That’s his right as an American.  A right, I might add, he fought Nazis to protect.”

“Mr. Rogers should not be causing trouble,” another said.  “He has a responsibility as a symbol of the United States.  He’s a figurehead at best, with about as much political power as the Queen in England.  He should do what figureheads do: shake hands and keep quiet.  Properly represent our country.  He’s been living in the 21st century how long?  Less than two years? Maybe he should settle in a bit more before he decides to comment on how we do things.”

By the weekend, Steve had fielded close to twenty calls from various networks and talk shows about making an appearance.  After setting a date for a press conference before any exclusive interviews, the stations momentarily backed down.  As Steve gave Sam a smug smile after he hung up another phone call from a reporter asking for a quote (“Really, no comment. Honestly, you’re going to have to wait for the press conference if you want anything else.”), Sam shook his head.  Steve had wanted a soapbox.  Now it was time to see how he handled it.

***

When Steve got up to the podium at the press conference, he saw close to fifteen microphones all wired up to capture every syllable of what he was going to say.  He couldn’t stop himself from thinking that things were so much easier when newspapers were the primary way to circulate current events, when suddenly someone told him that they were live.  Smiling, he looked out into the crowd of reporters and photographers, all poised like dogs waiting to be the first to get the news from Captain America himself.  Now was not the time to hold back.

“I see my letter to the editor has gotten some attention,” Steve said.  The joke caused a ripple of small laughter from the people in attendance.  “That’s good,” he continued, “because this is a very important issue, and one I think we could solve very simply.”

He paused, making sure he had full command of the room.  Off to the side, Sam, who knew what was coming, couldn’t help but shake his head.  If someone had told him that Captain America was this much of wise guy, with this kind of fire, a few months ago, he never would've believed them.

Steve drew in a breath.  “Vaccinate your fucking kids,” he said.  There was a shocked murmur among the crowd at Steve’s decision to use such blunt language.  “I mean,” he continued, “holy shit, do you realize what year it is?”  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sam covering his mouth, trying to obscure the laughter he was sure his friend was failing to totally suppress.

“I’d apologize for my language, but this should be obvious.  Vaccinate your kids.  There is no scientifically supported link between vaccines and autism.  The only people saying that are celebrities and one scientific study that’s since been proved inaccurate.  Maybe instead of listening to morning shows, you should be listening to actual doctors.  And even if there  _ was _ a link between vaccines and autism, even if there  _ was _ a chance that your child could develop autism from a vaccine, would you risk your child dying because you hate autism that much?  I’ll tell you, I know what it’s like to be on death’s door from illness.  I know what it’s like to be sick for more days than you’re healthy.  In case all of you forgot, I didn’t always look this way.  I was skinny and sickly and regularly ill, and if I had half the amount of medical technology all of you have today, maybe the only way to cure myself wouldn’t have been letting a Stark inject me with an experimental super serum.”

This comment eased a bit of the tension that had been building since Steve started really talking, as nervous laughs came from various parts of the crowd.

“My point is: vaccines are a marvel of modern medicine.  They’re a gift, so use them.  When you don’t vaccinate your kids, you’re not only putting your kid at risk, but any kid around them too young or sick to get a vaccine.  Kids who get vaccines are superheroes because they protect others from harm.  Take it from a bonafide superhero himself.  When you get vaccinated, you’re doing your duty as a hero to keep others safe, and you’re helping save the world from illness.  What kid doesn’t want to do that?”

Steve paused, knowing that the press was going to try to spin this story to fit whatever angle got the the most views, but he didn’t care.  He knew his point was crystal clear.

“I’ll take any questions now.”

***

_ “Steve Rogers is using our children to push his own liberal agenda.  You heard him at the press conference; he’s literally trying to turn our children against us.  Some American hero.  I think it’s despicable, personally.  He’s using the influence the American people entrusted in him to benefit his own politics, and I think it’s a gross misuse of-” _

As soon as the television switched off, Steve turned around to see Sam standing behind the couch, holding the spare remote.  When he saw Steve’s cocky smile, he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

“You’re pretty damn pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” Sam asked.

“I had three pediatricians call me today,” Steve said.  “I don’t know how they got my number, but now that they have, I expect there’ll be more.  They’re telling me how important it is that I’m teaching kids the necessity of vaccines, and that they had nearly double the typical crowd for flu shots this morning.”  He paused, his smile changing into something more genuine.  “If this is me ‘pushing my own liberal agenda’ and ‘turning America’s children against their parents’ then I couldn’t be happier.  That talking head was right, the American people entrusted me with a lot of influence, and you can be damn sure that I’m going to use that influence to make the world better, not bring it back to the way it was in the forties.”

Steve turned back around and used his own remote to switch back on the television.

“So to hell with what Fox News wants to believe.”

**Author's Note:**

> 6/8/17: Thank you for the 100 kudos! Glad you guys liked this so much <3


End file.
